Chapter 21

Prismatic Synthesis

Humans were so short-sighted. They couldn't see beyond their own simple desires.

But they had something Eltarians never had. In fact, there was no Eltarian word for it. It was a quality that defied definition. A raw determination, but it was more than simply refusing to give up. It was as if they could defy the laws of physics if they needed to. If there was a child trapped under a car, an ordinary human could lift it off of them. If a firefighter needed a few more seconds to get everyone out of a burning building, the fire would slow its progress. If they had a job that would require complex machinery but all they had was sticks and wire, they found a way to make it work. These humans forced the universe to comply to their will.

The control room doors opened for Zedd and he finally got to gaze upon the greatest failure the Power Rangers had ever known. There was once a ranger who commanded absolute power, and what did he do with it? Nothing. Killed by a renegade on his own team. And now, this once-powerful man had been reduced to an image on a wall.

"Zhane."

"Zordon."

"I know why you are here."

Zedd entered the control room and focused on the projector. The battle between the rangers and Serpenterra raged in its glow.

They watched the battle together. They saw the rangers overload their powers together. Each refused to let go. Zedd felt conflicted.

"I almost feel proud."

Zordon nodded. "We have taught them well."

"There is no 'we' in this. They won despite you. All you have done is held them back."

"They have grown beyond us, achieved something niether of us could." Zordon shook his head. "I'm sorry, Zhane."

"Sorry!? You're sorry!?" Zedd boomed. "What does that accomplish!? I have sacrificed everything! Given more than any other could!"

"You willingly gave up your entire being to get it back. Did it work? Did the power return what you had lost?"

Zedd glared at the coward. "It was never about getting it back."

"So you've given everything, and achieved nothing."

"I have achieved more than you could ever dream. An army of rangers, ready to destroy the machine advance."

"At what cost, Zhane!? They've taken half of everything. What good is it to give up the other half?"

"As long as I destroy them, I don't care what it costs." Zedd raised his spear to strike. "Everything I have been through has only made me stronger. I have dedicated myself to their destruction. I am invincible."

Zordon looked hard at him. "No ranger is invincible."

"Zedd!" Trini shouted as she charged him. She raked her weapons over his armor. He backhanded her into the wall.

Jason was already on the other side. Zedd thrust his spear and Jason parried, getting inside his defense. He ground his sword into Zedd's body. Zedd slammed Jason's side with the pole. One good hit in the head brought Jason to the ground.

Kim let an arrow loose. It exploded on Zedd's shoulder, pushing him away from Jason.

Zack used the opportunity to get in close and grab him. He was trying to hold the monster in place. Zedd ripped him away and threw him into Kim. They both slammed into a wall.

Tommy slashed at Zedd even though she knew it was useless. She wouldn't give up without fighting with everything she could.

Zedd punched her in the chest. Parts of her armor broke off with the force of it.

Only the Blue Ranger was left, the defeated one. He held his weapon like a shield, in front of himself.

Zedd met his opponent. Zordon regarded him with stoicism and a slight nod. Bitter plasma erupted from Zedd's hands shattering Zordon's image in the wall.

Zordon was ready. His rangers were ready. He stepped into the darkness.

Billy's jaw was tight, tears ran down his face. He squeezed his eyes shut. His lance ignited and he stabbed it into Zedd's back.

The power of the grid looped inside of Zedd. The entire room filled with a blinding light in every direction.

Zedd's armor exploded from his body. The pain he had lived with for 10,000 years was gone. All that was left was a cosmic euphoria. The grid wrapped around him like a blanket.

In his last moments, the grid showed him what they had done. Zedd had believed he was the pinnacle, the greatest Power Ranger that could exist. But Zordon had been right, these humans had achieved something he had thought impossible. They each had their own distinct strength. And they used their strengths to bolster each other to yet greater heights.

He assumed his successor would be Tommy or Jason. He had underestimated the others. He had broken them, just as he had to so many before, and these four had become stronger because of it. In the history of countless rangers, none had done it before. Zedd was numb with awe.

He took one last look at the coin. Someday there would be a new silver ranger. He could die content, knowing the universe's future was in their hands.

A man knelt where Zedd had been standing. Billy pulled his lance out of him. The other rangers surrounded this heap.

He didn't have any skin and the flesh underneath was brown and rotting. All of his teeth and hair had fallen out. There were no eyes, just two empty pits in his head.

A hand with no fingers held out a silver coin as if he was offering it to them. None of them dared to touch it.

"Zordon!" Kim covered her mouth. Zordon's wall was completely destroyed.

"We can bring him back," Trini said, turning to Billy. "Right?"

Billy looked at the projector. Zordon was gone. There was nothing he could do.

Trini looked at Zack. He shook his head.

"He may not have had the chance to teach us everything he knew," Jason said. "But he gave us everything we need." He stepped up to Zedd's body. "Both of them."

Trini guffawed. "That psycho?"

"He held back the Machine Empire for thousands of years." Jason touched the silver coin and looked at each of them. "Now it's our duty."

The ship began to rumble. They all shuddered, knowing what it meant.

"We have to go," Jason said wearily.

They walked. The slow trudge they had wordlessly agreed on seemed appropriate. They made their way through the ship, into the water held in place above, and out of the canyon.

An enormous alien ship floated in the sky above Angel Grove.

Jason's hand immediately found Kim's. Their fingers entwined and Kim held tightly. Tommy looked over at Trini. Her normally disaffected expression had been replaced with worried eyes. She reached out for her hand. Zack and Billy joined them, and the six rangers held strong. Whatever this threat was, they'd face it together.